Frequently Asked Questions
Who will I be working with?
Hey, I’m Ari. You won’t be handed off to an outside coach or consultant who’s only doing this part-time, and your story won’t get lost in translation toggling between a team of specialists. You’ll be working directly with me, the man behind Mindful Prep Coaching.
What if I’m only interested in essay reviews?
Then that’s fantastic. You can have any essay of your choosing reviewed via an Individual Essay Review. If you’d like help with other parts of your application, you can also opt for a Resume Review, Activities List + Honors Review, or a Comprehensive Application Review.
What if I’m only interested in the Passion Playbook component of Passion Coaching?
Then we’ll craft a coaching plan specific to your desires. The sample timeline (link to sample timeline from Pre-Grad Passion Coaching) is a possibility. You’re always in choice when crafting your coaching plan.
What is mindfulness?
Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), defines mindfulness as “the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” That’s the technique. The result is a quality of living with newness and possibility, where you don’t experience your idea of a thing but the thing itself. It amounts to a knowing of what leads to what. A knowing of your specific experience right now, how you’d like that experience to change, and why you’d like it to change. And this “knowing” is the optimal precondition to successfully making that change.
What makes this mindfulness based?
We’re not going to turn you into something you’re not. Whether it’s Passion Coaching or Admissions Consulting, we will utilize mindfulness practices to deeply engage with what is, cultivate personal insight, and unearth your core story.
Why do I need your help?
You might not. But if you’re here, there’s probably something that you want – a specific passion project, a specific university, a specific quality of experience – and you’re exploring ways of getting it. So it’s useful to ask yourself: how would it feel to give myself, for the thing I most desperately want, the absolute best shot of success? How would pursuing this goal with that level of support feel compared to pursuing it without that support? And then you get to decide if that change in feeling is something you want.
Can you guarantee admission to a specific university?
I cannot guarantee a specific result. What I can guarantee is that the version of you that has the best shot of getting whatever it is you want is the you who quiets down the din of distraction, connects to your core story, and confidently and vulnerably shares that with others. And it’s that mindfulness, confidence, and authenticity that we will cultivate.
How long will we be working together?
As always, the choice is entirely yours. Having said that, Passion Coaching relationships tend to last 6 months, with folks then following up for less frequent “check-in” sessions to maintain the momentum they’ve built. Admissions Consulting relationships typically last 3-6 months (depending on whether you’re seeking support for one application or all of your applications), with an uptick once more for post-acceptance support.